stoke loud & proud issue 2

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The Big Contract Debate

Marko Arnautovic has had a fantastic season.

Numerous goals and plenty of assists have made Arnie the main man behind our sexy frontline. His first couple of years in England might have been blighted by inconsistency but, on the whole, he has been superb this season.

This all begs the question of how impor-tant is it for Arnie to put pen to paper on a new contract? On the face of it, very.

Stoke’s top scorer, the man who has helped fire Austria to Euro 2016 sends men and women weak at the knees. He tore both Manchester clubs apart earlier in the season and has been responsible for The Potters picking up numerous points throughout the campaign.

But, despite all this, his contract dispute continues to rumble on. Various financial figures have been banded about in the media and if they are correct then Arnie would become not only Stoke’s highest paid player, but also smash our wage structure.

Is a player worth that much money? In my mind no player is bigger than the club or, to put it another way, no player is worth more than what the club perceives as an acceptable wage.

We’ve been able to attract world super-stars such as Bojan and Xherdan Shaqiri with our current structure and once you break the rule for one, then others soon put their hands up to break it too.

We are an incredibly well run club and for-tunate to have someone like Peter Coates at the helm. As a result, we are arguably the most stable club in the entire country.

Whilst it would be a real shame to see someone of Arnautovic’s calibre depart, the club’s future is far more important.

There will be many more players who can step in similar boots to Arnie, but there will never be another Stoke City.

James Knowles


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SL&P Competition’s

Competition Terms and Conditions

The promoter is: Stoke Loud and Proud Ltd (company no: 9928617)

Employees of Stoke Loud and Proud or their family members or anyone else connected in any way with the competition or helping to set up the competition shall not be permitted to enter the competition.There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this competition.Route to entry for the competition and details of how to enter are via Facebook and the Stoke Loud and Proud App.Closing date for entry will be detailedon the Facebook page. After this date the no further entries to the competition will be permitted.No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.Stoke Loud and Proud reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice in the event of a catastrophe, war, civil or military disturbance, act of God or any actual or anticipated breach of any applicable law or regulation or any other event outside of Stoke Loud and Proud’s control. Any changes to the competition will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by Stoke Loud and Proud. Stoke Loud and Proud is not responsible for inaccurate prize details supplied to any entrant by any third party connected with this competition.No cash alternative to the prizes will be offered. The prizes are not transferable. Prizes are subject to availability and we reserve the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent value without giving notice.Winners will be chosen, by an independent adjudicator or panel of judges appointed by Stoke Loud and Proud . The winner will be notified by email/ text message/ app message or Facebook message within 3 days of the closing date. If the winners cannot be contacted or do not claim the prize within 7 days of notification, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner.Stoke Loud and Proud will notify the winner when and where the prize can be collected.Stoke Loud and Proud’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

Here at Stoke Loud and Proud we are known for our amazingcompetitions , in the last 3 months alone we have given away , ipad’s, SCFC signed tops, a SCFC season ticket , gift vouchers for the club

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Our competitions are promoted on our Facebook page , Twitter and also on our website , so keep your eyes open for running competitions

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Mama Sidibe was a forward that divided supporters. Signed by Tony Pulis in 2005, the former Gillingham man was soon un-der the management of Johan Boskamp following Pulis’ sacking. That almost resulted in Sidibe leaving before kicking a ball in a Stoke shirt, but thankfully he remained.

Seven goals were scored in that first sea-son at the club, but the return of his old Gillingham boss Pulis brought the best out of the Mali international.

He formed a telepathic partnership with Ricardo Fuller and whilst Sidibe was never to be prolific, without him Stoke probably wouldn’t be where they are today. He was integral to Stoke reaching the Premier League, not least thanks to an unexpected brace against promotion rivals Bristol City late on in the 2007-08 campaign.

Vital to Stoke’s style under Pulis, Sidibe scored the winner in City’s first Premier League victory- a header helping in Rory Delap’s long throw against Aston Villa.

Looking back, it was somewhat fitting that Sidibe was to score that goal. Much maligned by Stoke fans- much as Stoke were maligned by bookies and pundits following promotion- the ever-smiling striker put a silent two finger salute up to his doubters.

Sadly his career was curtailed by an array of knee injuries, but he remains part of the furniture in The Potteries. His son plays for Stoke’s academy and he opened Melice Patisserie with his wife upon retirement.

Soon to take part in Andy Wilkinson’s tes-timonial, Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma-Mama Sidibe is sure to receive the reception his efforts truly deserved during his eight years with the club.

James Knowles

Ex Favourites : Mama Sidibe

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Ex Favourites : Mama Sidibe

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When Peter Coates re invested in Stoke one of his main visions was to become self sufficient. The first part of this plan was to get the club into the premier league and the other was to improve the academy ,so we could attract the best youngsters to the club and we could train them to either get into our own first team or sell on at a profit.

One of the biggest problems, is getting a young player into our first team due to the calibre of player in the first team, so opportunities are very slim for up and coming youngsters to get any game time at Stoke.

Academies can bring a player so far but without proper competitive games a play-er can never fulfil any potential they may have. The current U21 league lacks much of the necessary competitive nature of the old central league, so the only way to get a player any form of competitive games is to loan them out to lower league teams.

The premier league have come up with a radical plan to allow a premier league U21 side to join the Johnstone paint tro-phy. This negotiation with league one and two clubs is in the early stages but would give the academies the proper competi-tive games with the chance of a Wembley trip and silverware at the end of it.

Stoke are no strangers to this competition having won it two times, and I am sure back then we would of opposed the likes of Man U and Liverpool being allowed to compete in a solely lower league competi-tion even if it was their U21 sides.

One thing that probably will be insisted upon by the league one and two clubs bar the large amount of cash as a sweeten-er , is that only Players of 21 years and younger can play, as in the current guise you can play 3 above age players in the U21 league.

I feel there may still be limited opportu-nity, just like there has been at virtually every premier league club in the past decade.

The money involved in the premier league in way of prize money and to revenues mean that every game you need to field your strongest side, not allowing any chance to give an unproven academy player the chance, obviously there will always be that 1 in a million player of the likes of Rooney that will make it, but there will be hundreds of other that just won’t get that chance.

How long will it be until we have premier league B sides ? can see it before the Qatar World Cup or at least the wheels put in motion for it to happen.

Marc Espley

Can we improve our academy ?

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Can we improve our academy ?

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Player Watch Xherdan Shaqiri

It’s been a mixed first season at Stoke for the Swiss superstar. The signature of Shaqiri from Inter Milan last summer raised many eyebrows on the continent, with experts wondering how a club like Stoke could attract a player with such a pedigree. Arriving for a record fee, Shaqiri set up a goal within 10 minutes of his debut. But that was somewhat of a false dawn, as he went through a quiet patch. That spell ended with an explosive run of performances against the league’s big boys. Shaqiri ripped Chelsea apart and also put both Manchester clubs to the sword with excellent solo performances. But it was his brace at Everton- including a delicious lob- that has been Shaqiri’s highlight of the season. With just one more goal to add to that tally the jury is out on how successful his first campaign has actually been. There is no doubting Shaqiri’s talent though, and supporters will be looking forward to season number two in a Stoke shirt.

Ibrahim Afellay

A Dutch international signing from Bar-celona, it should come as no surprise that Afellay has arguably been Stoke’s player of the season. But, the truth is that most Stoke fans weren’t expecting all that much from ‘Ibi’. That negativity from sup-porters was compounded by a mindless red card against West Brom in Afellay’s fourth match for the club. But that setback seemed to galvanise him into showing The Potters faithful what he’s capable of. Playing in a number of positions- attack-ing midfield, winger and even as a holding midfielder- Afellay’s versatility has been invaluable during a campaign littered by injuries to the squad. Sadly Afellay has now been the victim of one of those injuries.

Knee ligament damage means he will miss the rest of 2016 and we will miss his energy, his smile and, most of all, his talent. Good luck in your recovery, Ibi.

Peter Crouch

At 6’ 7” tall, Crouchie is a target for goading from opposition supporters, but it is ‘2 metre Peter’ who has often had the last laugh. With 44 goals since signing in 2011, Crouch has been an excellent acquisition for Stoke. He helped The Potters on their way to a success-ful European run and has been a fantastic ambassador for the club off the pitch. His days at Stoke may seem numbered, but he contin-ues to be involved in almost every matchday squad. That’s testament to what the 35 year old can offer and his terrific performance in the League Cup semi-final at Anfield proved that there’s life in the old dog yet.

James Knowles

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Player Watch

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With the season almost over, here are our top three goals of the season.

1. Xherdan Shaqiri v Everton

With Stoke on a fantastic run of form, Shaqiri put in his best individual performance since signing from Inter Milan. With one goal already under his belt, the Swiss international received a pass from Bojan. The ball took Shaqiri wide of the goal, but he instinctively lobbed the ball first time on the half-volley over the head of Tim Howard. It was a piece of genius, showing why Shaqiri is worth so much money.

2. Ibrahim Afellay v Bournemouth

Stoke were momentarily down to 10 men but that didn’t deter them from a classic breakaway goal. Jonathan Walters held the ball up before feeding Afellay who, from the edge of the area, swept the ball beyond the dive of Artur Boruc to score his first Premier League goal.

3. Marko Arnautovic v Man Utd

They might not be having a vintage season, but Manchester United remain the number one scalp as far as I’m concerned. It was a Boxing Day to remember as Stoke brushed them aside, with Arnautovic firing an unstoppable strike from outside the area past David de Gea. There wasn’t a fancy build up to this goal, but the hit from Arnie was a delight, to put Stoke 2-0 up- a lead they maintained to the final whistle.

There have been some excellent goals to choose from this season- let us know what your favourites have been on social media.

James Knowles

Goals of the season

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What’s on in Stoke in May/June

Entertainment for grown ups -

May Day Bank Holiday All Nighter - Sugarmill 1st May Afternoon Horse Racing - Uttoxeter Race Course - 5th May Ladies Night - Moat House Festival Park 13th May Soul Legends All Dayer - Kings Hall Stoke 14th May The Human League Live- Uttoxeter Race Course - 14th May The Rocky Horror Show- Regent Theatre - 23rd- 28th May Miss Staffordshire - Uttoxeter Race Course - 29th May Summer Afternoon Racing - Uttoxeter Race Couse - 15th June The Dreamboys - Regent Theatre 16th June Abba Mania - Regent Theatre 18th June John Smiths Summer Cup- Uttoxeter Race Couse - 26th June Queen Tribute - Trentham Estate - 25th June

Entertainment for the family -

Day at The Lake - Rudyard Lake 1st May Riverdance - Regent Theatre , Hanley 6th May SCFC V Crystal Palace - Selhurst Park 7th May Fun Dog Show- Longton Park 8th May Hairspray The Musical - Regent Theatre 9th - 14 th May SCFC V West Ham - Britannia Stadium 15th May Andy Wilkinson Testimonial - Britannia Stadium - 16th May Donna Louise 5k/10k Family Fun Run- Trentham Estate 22nd May Legends Football SCFC V PVFC - Port Vale 22nd May Family Fun Race Day - Uttoxeter Race Course 29th May

Entertainment for the kids -

Caudwell Children’s Activity Day- Little Rascals Nursery Stafford 5th May Make a Crown Day- Gladsone Pottery Museum 14th MayPeppa Pig’s Big Surprise - Regent Theatre 25th-26th May Wildplay - Wesport Lake Visitor Centre 30th May Half Term Pottery Painting - Gladstone Pottery Museum 30th May - 4th June Meet the Aniamals - Gladsone Pottery Museum 2nd June Gangsta Granny- Regent Theatre 8th -11th June Football Coaching Club (11.15am-13.15pm) - Stoke City Academy - All Weekends

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What’s on in Stoke in May/June

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Farewell Britannia The Britannia Stadium’s lifespan is com-ing to a close. From next season the Brit will fall under the banner of the Bet365 Stadium.Whilst it may annoy a few supporters, the name change was only a matter of time. From a business perspective it makes perfect sense for the Coates family to cross-promote their two businesses and the additional revenue the deal will bring to the football club only further strength-ens Stoke’s hand in the transfer market.

It is another step forward off the pitch and there was further good news with the announcement that the stadium’s capacity will be increased in 12 month’s time. Add this summer’s renovations at Clayton Wood to the mix and things are looking great.

There were many tears shed when Stoke left the old Victoria Ground for a shiny new stadium, but the Brit ended up play-ing host to a memorable spell in Stoke’s history.

The love affair with the Brit began with a drab 1-1 draw in the League Cup with Rochdale on 27 August 1997 and will end with Andy Wilkinson’s testimonial on 16 May 2016. It seems fitting that Wilko, a man who has played a huge part at the Britannia Stadium, should be the man to bring the curtain down on the old girl.

What does a name change mean though? Very little, in truth. Most supporters will continue to refer to it as the Brit and will continue to sit in the same seat. Aside from a fresh lick of paint and a new play-ing pitch, very little will change over the summer.Still, it’s the end of an era so let’s have a quick look back on five memorable matches the Brit hosted.

4 May 2003Stoke City 1-0 ReadingA season that had seen three different managers in the hotseat- and George Burley turn us down- climaxed with a final day relegation battle. Tony Pulis had come in and solidified Stoke, with an unbeaten five match home run going into the match against Reading. Avoiding defeat would have been enough to stay in the second tier, but The Potters went one better. Lewis Neal’s cross was superbly headed home by loanee Ade Akinbiyi in front of the Boothen End to keep Stoke in the division. Had they fallen through the trapdoor you dread to think what could have happened.

4 May 2008Stoke City 0-0 Leicester CityWhat a day 4 May has been. Five years after that last day escape Stoke hosted Leicester City, knowing that a point would be enough to take them to the Premier League for the first time since its for-mation in 1992. With Leicester fighting against relegation on the final day of the season it was a cagey affair and as a con-test, largely forgettable. A 0-0 draw was enough to send Stoke up though, with thousands of supporters flooding the pitch at full time. Leicester, for the record, went down that day. Eight years later, they’re not doing too badly...

23 August 2008Stoke City 3-2 Aston VillaThe first Premier League match at the Brit was a corker. At the time, Aston Villa were one of the big sides in the division and were to knock on the door of Champions League qualification in this particular sea-son. It was a day set up for Stoke glory though. Liam Lawrence’s penalty opened the scoring before future Stoke player John Carew equalised.

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Farewell Britannia An incredible piece of magic from Ricardo Fuller put Stoke back in the lead 10 minutes from time, but the man he had skinned immediately equalised for Villa- Martin Laursen’s celebrations more of re-lief rather than joy. In a season that would be well remembered for Rory Delap’s long throw, the Irish international was gifted an opportunity to launch one into the box in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Mamady Sidibe climbed highest and the ball flicked the back of his head before nestling into the back of the net. Pandemonium.

13 March 2011Stoke City 2-1 West Ham UnitedA fairly routine FA Cup run saw Stoke come head to head against West Ham, just 90 minutes away from Wembley. That man Delap was the architect of Stoke’s opener- his throw plundered home by Robert Huth. The visitor’s equaliser was controversial, with Frederic Piquionne handling before prodding home. A cheap penalty was missed by Matthew Ether-ington, but Stoke weren’t left to regret it. Danny Higginbotham fancied his chances with a free kick and hit the ball too hard for Rob Green to stop in the West Ham goal. Higginbotham’s winner set up a Wembley date with Bolton, which Stoke famously won 5-0.

5 December 2015Stoke City 2-0 Manchester CityArguably Stoke’s finest performance at the Brit came last December against Manchester City. Stoke hold a healthy re-cord against Man City and added another scalp with a pulsating display. Marko Arnautovic put in a majestic display, scor-ing a brace in the first quarter of an hour. His link up play with Xherdan Shaqiri, Bojan and Ibrahim Afellay would have been enough to beat the very best in the world that day- let’s face it, Man City are right up there with the very best. The only shame about the afternoon was that the final result wasn’t more emphatic. It could have been 6-0 come full-time. A couple of weeks later Stoke beat Manchester United by the same scoreline thanks to another excellent team display.

It’s been a remarkable 19 year journey at the stadium and hopefully the Bet365 Stadium will give birth to many more memories.

So, farewell Britannia- it’s been a good ride.

James Knowles

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With the season coming to a close we take a look at all the players who have played their part over the campaign.

GoalkeepersJack Butland: AThe man responsible for making the most saves per appearance in the Premier League and he kept Stoke in a number of matches. A magnificent replacement for Asmir Begovic, it’s such a shame he’ll miss Euro 2016 through injury. Shay Given: CSadly his season has been blighted by injury, but he played his part in Stoke’s early Capital One Cup run, whilst also being the first 40 year old to play for the club in the league since Stanley Matthews. Jakob Haugaard: CProbably didn’t expect to appear for the first team this season, but has been given a chance due to injuries. Room for improvement, but clear potential in the tall keeper.

DefendersGlen Johnson: B+A former England defender, Johnson came with superb pedigree and quickly showed his class on the pitch. He fizzled out a little bit in the New Year, before seeing his season end with injury. Phil Bardsley: C+The right back has probably appeared more often than he’d have expected, with his most memorable moment scoring the clinching goal in the Capital One Cup quarter-final. His attacking capabilities have been an exciting addition to the side.Erik Pieters: B-Pieters had a superb start to the campaign but has gone off the boil since the turn of the year. You get the impression the Dutchman would benefit from a bit of pressure on his position in the side and I’m sure Mark Hughes will look to address that in the summer. Ryan Shawcross: B+If our captain had been fit for the full campaign then I’m sure we’d have been knocking on the door of Europe. His return to the side in November coincided with an excellent team defensive record, but a second back injury somewhat ruined his season.

Ryan needs a good rest in the summer and hopefully he’s fighting fit come August.

Philipp Wollscheid: B+A constant in an ever changing backline, Wollscheid has been the glue to try and hold things together. An intelligent player, the German has shown glimpses as to why he has picked up two international caps. Not quite sure he’s better than Zidane though...!Geoff Cameron: B+Starting the season at centre back, Camer-on has gone on to frequently play in central midfield and has put in a number of good per-formances. Missed a number of games through injury in January/February, which coincided with a poor run of form for the side. Marc Muniesa: C+The loveable Spaniard has had another season blighted by injury and has suffered on the pitch as a result. He needs continuity of defensive partnership to improve, but will struggle to do that with his constant injuries. It’s a shame, as Muniesa is clearly a very talented and cultured footballer. Marc Wilson: D+Barely had a sniff of action over the season through niggles and form. Were he fit, his ver-satility would have been valuable in the latter third of the season, but he now faces a race to appear at Euro 2016 for Ireland. Dionatan Teixeira: D+It’s hard to see a future at the club for the Bra-zilian born Slovakian, but his one performance was a good one. A no-nonsense 45 minute display at Bournemouth helped Stoke secure a vital victory.

MidfieldersGlenn Whelan: A-Regularly wearing the armband through the season, Whelan is like a fine wine- he improves with age. He does the quiet and dirty things so well and always likely to be the man to mop up a teammate’s error. Stephen Ireland: C+Had some good moments during his fleeting appearances, none more so than a game changing cameo at White Hart Lane where Ireland helped Stoke secure their first point of the season.

The Class of 2015-2016

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Giannelli Imbula: BStoke’s record signing started life at the club like an absolute world beater. Unsurprisingly that form has tailed off a little bit, but the prom-ise Imbula has shown bodes well for a bright future. Marco van Ginkel: C-A player who arrived with much hype failed to emulate the departed Steven Nzonzi. One of his final moments in a Stoke shirt saw him strike the post at Anfield. Had he scored, Stoke would have been on their way to Wembley. Charlie Adam: C-Sadly failed to replicate his end of season form of 2014-15, whilst being another player on the end of a fairly lengthy injury. Could be one of the big names to depart this summer. Steve Sidwell: DHis move to Stoke didn’t really work out having failed to be given a real opportunity to make his mark. Loaned out to Brighton in January, he’ll be hoping to gain promotion with the Seagulls.

AttackersMarko Arnautovic: A-There have been some moments of pure qual-ity from Arnautovic this season. Sadly his best campaign for Stoke might be his last one...hopefully he signs a contract soon!Xherdan Shaqiri: B-Room for improvement for Shaqiri after a mixed debut season. Glimpses of class have been overshadowed by inconsistency. Hopefully a good Euro 2016 will increase his confidence ahead of next season. Mame Biram Diouf: B-It’s been a tough season for Diouf, notably due to the tragic death of his mother. His off-field news clearly affected the striker, but he always tries his heart out on the pitch. Jonathan Walters: BOften written off, Walters keeps on hitting back. Some excellent goals have topped off a decent season for the man that Ireland hope will be their top boy in France this summer. Bojan: BIt was a joy to see Bojan return from injury and whilst he’s not quite been up to the form of last season, his scoring record has been excellent. With a full pre-season under his belt he’s only likely to improve next season.

Joselu: B-Needs more opportunities to stake a claim to be the number one striker, but has shown good signs during his first season in England. Seems to be a well liked member of the squad too.Peter Crouch: CNot so much a secret weapon, but certainly a different option. Crouch’s finest moment of the season came in the Capital One Cup semi-fi-nal, putting in a magnificent display against his old side Liverpool. Peter Odemwingie: DSadly failed to recover sufficiently from his knee injury to play at the highest level despite his best efforts. His infectious personality will be missed, but his influence on the pitch wasn’t good enough this season.

The ManagerMark Hughes: B-After a slow start, Hughes set up the possibility of making history. Magnificent tactics in De-cember brought memorable victories against both Manchester clubs, but the failure to fresh-en things up ahead of the Capital One Cup semi-final first leg saw us lethargic in a huge match. Our eventual defeat on penalties in that tie killed the players and whilst they bounced back admirably, the motivation hasn’t quite been there in the final weeks of the campaign. Hughes has been an excellent manager for Stoke and I’m sure he’ll be aiming for the next step next season: a cup and a potential charge towards Europe.

James Knowles

The Class of 2015-2016

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Has there ever been a Stoke player that has split the fans as much as Graham Kavanagh? Doubtful though Daryl Russell comes close!! We signed ‘Kav’ from Mid-dlesbrough for £250,000 in 1996 after a short loan spell with us. He was the cen-tre midfielder we needed and he made 41 appearances during that 1stseason, scoring four goals including the final goal at the Victoria Ground vs our favourite opponents, yes WBA!!

In his 2nd season with Stoke, he also had the honour of scoring our first goal at the Britannia in a League Cup match against Rochdale. However, it wasn’t a good sea-son for him or us, as we were relegated to the 3rd tier, despite his 10 goals from midfield.

In our 1st season at this lowly level, he top-scored with 13 goals but we failed to mount a sustained promotion chal-lenge underhighly rated yet disappointing Manager Brian Little who had created a shambles of a side. Then as the Icelan-dic’s came in the following season, he was partnered by ball-winner midfielder James O’Connor and the 2 linked up fairly well. Kav bagged 10 goals that season but it ended badly after losing in that eventful play-off game vs Gillingham which I still have nightmares about now! Referee Rob Styles probably has arousing dreams about it mind!

Kav followed Clive Clarke in getting an early bath after an angry fracas surround-ed him and Gillingham’s Andy Hessen-thaler.

He furiously protested his innocence but it made no difference he was off and we were down to 9 men. We lost 3-0 after extra-time but it was a horrible night.

Somehow Kav avoided suicide as he did play and score in the Football League Trophy final as we beat Bristol City 2-1 at Wembley.He was again a regular in 2000 – 2001 season but we once again failed in the play-offs, this time to Walsall.

Overall he made 244 appearances for Stoke over 5 seasons, scoring a decent 45 goals from midfield before we quad-rupled our money on him and sold him to Cardiff City for £1M.

I’m not sure whether he wanted to go as there were so many conflicting stories being branded about, but many now say he didn’t want to leave and returned as a pariah.He was about as popular as Peter Andre but if truth be told, the board at the time were desperate to sell, as we found out with my favourite player Peter Thorne being sold not long after, once again to Cardiff. Rumours now suggest that Thorne couldn’t get out of the door quick enough yet returned a hero.

In Kav’s first season at Cardiff, he scored goals for fun and was well-liked by all. Stoke then met them in the play-offs and we lost the first leg 2–1 at home which did not bode well travelling to the notoriously hostile Ninian Park knowing we needed to win. After 90 minutes the match was 0–0 and with Cardiff preparing their cele-brations, James O’Connor scored.What made it funnier for us Stokies was that his shot rolled under Kavanagh’s legs which were as open as wide as the Channel Tunnel.

Gone but not forgotten Graham Kavanagh

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Stoke then completed a dramatic victory with O’Connor’s shot deflecting in off Sou-leymane Oulare’s bum to shatter Kav’s dreams but which sent us Stokies as wild as Kyle Lightbourne’s shooting!

So why did he split fans views? Well many say he would look brilliant for 20 minutes, then you’d wonder where he’d gone? Many said he could cross a ball as well as David Beckham?

He obviously had ability but perhaps never really made the most of it? Also for some reason sections of the crowd would go into paroxysms of breathless anticipation whenever Stoke got a free kick around the box. Then without fail Kav would either smack it into the wall or row z. And yet, against all weight of evidence, there still seemed to be this belief that he was the next thing to Roberto Carlos!!

In hindsight, it was perhaps because Stoke was mostly a shower of s*** for a few years; a plethora of disinterested jour-neymen and utterly diabolical “footballers” such as Paul Stewart, David Oldfield & Ben Petty yet we knew Kav had got the ability to do something special.

Overall the years, I’ve heard him com-pared to Jamie Redknapp (without the looks, talent or injury problems), Ray Wilkins (a player good on the ball yet rather slow and sluggish), Father Ted (a priest in an Irish sitcom on Channel 4) and an owl (due to his smooth grey hair). But I was a fan of him and was disap-pointed to see him go.Graham Kavanagh, gone but not forgotten!!

Daniel Scattergood

Gone but not forgotten Graham Kavanagh

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Thanks to our Contributors

Disclaimer We would like to offer our thanks and gratitude to all of our advertiser’s in this month’s edition of the Stoke Loud and Proud magazine. It is paramount to us that you are happy with the advertisements, images and content to represent your company. We take no responsibility for loss or damage to your business by advertising in this publication. Stoke loud and Proud does not endorse any content of any advertisements within this publication

Editorial: Kerry Hutchinson (SL&P)

Content and Articles : Kerry Hutchinson (SL&P)James Knowles (SL&P)Marc Espley (SL&P)Daniel Scattergood (SL&P)Stoke City Community Trust

Graphic Design : Ruth Willis (Scarletruthmargaret.co.uk)

Advertising : [email protected]

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Thanks to our Contributors

stoke loud & proud issue 2

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